This issue will host papers that address the issue of globalisation in =relation to the new directions in teaching and research in the field of =Renaissance Literature, Drama and Cultural Studies.

Globalisation has changed the way we think about the canon in the =English curriculum. 'English literature' is no longer a signifier =associated with a national culture, but is now part of the multiplicity =of interconnected cultural and literary traditions commonly identified =as world literatures in English.=20

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The term globalisation itself, however, has become a site of sustained =political and theoretical contestation. The emergence of what is =commonly called a 'global culture' has often been theorised in terms of =a one-way flow from the centre to the periphery. Conversely, a number of =critics have argued that this approach obliterates concrete instances of =resistance to the processes that globalisation has engendered. =Furthermore, by evoking a seemingly shapeless, homogeneous world, the =concept of globalisation can be seen to erase the neo-colonial =structures of domination and the hierarchies of sex, race and class that =cut across the present world system.

Within this framework, then, we would be interested in publishing papers =that analyse and discuss the ways in which canonical Renaissance texts =are re-used, in teaching and research, in ever changing, multicultural =contexts, where they confront the tension between the homogeneising =impetus of globalisation and the survival and resistance of local =cultural forms and practices.=20

Canonical texts and authors, especially Shakespeare, also circulate in =the global market in form of books, films, works in electronic media and =other kinds of cultural commodities. Another area of interest of this =issue, therefore, is the production, circulation and consumption of =Renaissance works within the contemporary transnational culture =industry. Analyses of specific case studies, as well as more general or =theoretical discussions, would be welcome contributions.

Thirdly, we would welcome contributions that examine specific texts or =cultural phenomena in the English Renaissance in the light of the =various theorisations of globalisation, early modern colonialism and the =emergence of commercial capitalism.